THE PAINTER'S FIRE

A capacious view of patriotism.

Art historian Anishanslin takes a fresh perspective on the American Revolution by focusing on three artists whose work inspired rebellion and patriotism: Robert Edge Pine, a British painter likely of African descent; Prince Demah, an enslaved portrait painter; and Patience Wright, an American wax sculptor who ran a London wax museum. Less known than John Singleton Copley, Charles Willson Peale, and Gilbert Stuart, the three were famous among their contemporaries; their clientele spanned the political spectrum, and their art, seen in exhibitions and reproductions, shaped public opinion in Britain and the colonies. Moreover, besides producing art, each contributed to the revolution in other ways: Demah as a soldier, Wright as a patriot spy, and Pine as the founder of popular museum culture. Demah was brought to London by his self-serving enslaver, who recognized his rare artistic talents and planned to publicize him for her own benefit and arrange for him to study with a professional artist to further develop his skills. On the voyage abroad, he served both as a valet to his owner and as a mariner on the ship. Fortunately, the artist who took him on as apprentice was Pine, an ardent supporter of American liberty. Wright, a successful sculptor in the colonies, was a widow with five children when she decided to go to London to establish herself there. With a letter of introduction to Benjamin Franklin from his sister, Jane, Wright found support to launch her new career. Soon, her networks included aristocrats, politicians, and merchants, from whom she easily gathered intelligence that she passed on to Franklin. “Not all Patriots were white,” Anishanslin writes. “Not all Patriots were men.” The fight for freedom raged beyond combat.

A stirring, thoroughly researched history.